Uni(tard) Watch

By Paul Lukas, on April 12th, 2016

A few Fridays ago I wrote a piece about NC State basketball’s infamous 1989 unitards, which were worn for two days before being scrapped. Toward the end of that piece, I wrote, “[T]he NC State unitard never caught on with other schools.”

But it turns out I was wrong.

Shortly after that piece ran, reader Brad Hardy got in touch to tell me that Oklahoma State had also worn unitards in 1989. Frankly, I was skeptical — I’d never heard or seen anything about that, and it had never come up during any of my previous discussions of the NC State design. I asked Brad if he had any photos, figuring he probably couldn’t come up with any.

Shows what I know:

The image quality isn’t great, obviously, but the shots definitely appear to show Oklahoma State wearing a unitard very similar to NC State’s (and without the fig-leaf shorts that the Wolfpack had resorted to!). Brad said the shots were from a 1989 NIT game against Boise State. Several people on Twitter backed up his account; some claimed that they actually attended the game.

I contacted the OSU media relations folks and asked if they had any additional photos or info. After combing through their archives for the better part of a week, they said they’d come up empty, which isn’t so surprising when you consider we’re talking about a single game from more than a quarter-century ago. I also contacted Boise State — no word back from them yet, but I’d say it’s highly unlikely they’ll have anything, especially since they lost that game.

And there’s more — or at least there might be. On the day that my ESPN piece about the NC State unitards ran, reader Dave R. posted the following comment here on this site:

I want to say that three other Nike schools were given the singlets to try that season, one of which was Iowa. Like the Wolfpack, the Hawkeyes wore regular game shorts with them. Also want to say that at least one school changed their mind before gametime and didn’t wear [the singlets] at all. Don’t remember the other schools, though.

Again, this was all news to me, so I contacted the folks at Iowa. The response: “Our equipment manager for basketball, who was here at the time, says Iowa did not wear a unitard.”

So for now, Oklahoma State is the only school we can add to the unitard roster. If anyone has better photos from That OSU/Boise State game, and/or if you have information on any other school having worn the unitards, you know what to do. Thanks.

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Big mystery news: An MLB team is going to make history today by doing something with its uniform program that no other team has ever done. It’s a fairly small thing — small enough so that people who don’t care about uniforms will probably say, “Who cares?” But for those of us who Get Itâ„¢, it’s a very interesting move.

I have an exclusive on this story, with good background info from the team and the vendor/supplier on the project. Here it is, with additional info to follow on the blog tomorrow.

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Never too old: The Granny Basketball League has occasionally come up here on Uni Watch. The video shown above provides a good look at the sport, including its impressively uniform uniforms. Further info and photos in this article, which ran over the weekend.

(My thanks to Patrick Chippeaux for this one.)

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Click to enlarge

Collector’s CornerBy Brinke Guthrie

Reds fans! Do you know what time it is? If you have this 1970s Reds watch by the Lafayette Watch Company, you surely will! The ad says the crystal is in good condition. Speaking of time, did anyone else have one of these Team-Mate Alarm Clocks by Westclox? I had a Reds one and surely wish I still had it now.

• The listing for this set of NFL Marbles says it’s from the 1970s but it has to be from ’80s due to the Bengals helmet.

• Dust off your turntable and drop the needle on this three-album Miami Dolphins set. Included are “The Dynamic Young Dolphins” and how-to LPs by Griese and Warfield.

• I don’t think this Packers “Gang Green” shirt was licensed. And I thought “Gang Green” referred to the Jets. Or wait, was it theEagles? [Green is clearly a fickle hue. ”” PL]

• Did your 1970s sets of NFL electric football players from Tudor come in this nifty little box with terrific graphics? Not me, mine were in a plastic bag in a plain box. And I even remember the address: 176 Johnson Street, Brooklyn.

Hockey News: The Penguins will wear their throwback alternate for every home game during the postseason. This is just fueling the rumors that the Penguins will ditch Vegas Gold in favor of the yellower Pittsburgh Gold (from John Muir and Ryan Zundell). … The Flyers will wear a memorial patch for Ed Snider, the team’s co-founder who died on Monday. … Brian Codagnone found a photo of North Stars center Bill Masterton from very early in the franchise’s history. “The crest isn’t even sewn on,” he says. “Must have been an early prototype.” … In February, Oregon’s club hockey team unveiled new uniforms. Here’s more information on Rebirth Sports, the company that outfits them and other America Club Hockey Association teams (from Steve Ceruolo).

NBA News: Here’s how the Bucks equipment manager lays out the key with athletic tape for walk-throughs at the hotel for road games (from Phil). … Someone named the five worst uniforms of the 1990s (from Phil). … After the league intervened in March, Cavs PG Matthew Dellavedova stopped wearing a biometric wristband. Now the device’s manufacturer, Whoop, is meeting with the NBA players’ union in an effort to legalize biotrackers. They are currently prohibited during games, but players can wear them in practices and shootarounds (from Brinke). … Raptors PG Cory Joseph has been wearing a mask.

Soccer News: Check out all the shirts Sporting Kansas City has worn over the last 20 years. I’m not a big soccer guy, so I was surprised the club had a technicolor motif early on (from Keenan Soto).

What Paul did last night: If you’ve been a fan of a certain strain of indie-rock over the past 20-odd years, you’re probably familiar with Chris Brokaw and/or Geoff Farina from their various bands and solo projects. They have a new record and are promoting it by doing a tour of shows in people’s living rooms, and last night that tour came to my friend Liz’s house. So a few dozen of us paid $20 apiece to pile into Liz’s living room and watch them play. They were really, really good.

You might say, “Twenty bucks to sit in a cramped living room in Bed-Stuy? That’s nuts!,” and you’d be right. But I might then counter with, “I got to see two professional musicians in the most intimate setting imaginable, which was really special,” and I’d be right too. (Also, the Mets were getting slaughtered, so it’s just as well that I was doing something else.) An excellent evening.

Oh wow… I missed that completely. Never in a million years would have linked rainbows to Wizards – even in Kansas, much less Missouri. Is that a state rivalry thing where Missouri tried to rip off Kansas?

arrScott|
April 12, 2016 at 8:22 am |

That Baseball Centennial spread is a nice encapsulation of baseball’s 1939 celebration: Fun, but complete hokum. I’m not aware of any evidence that anyone played baseball in anything like a uniform in 1839, or even prior to the 1850s. And pitchers certainly did not use an overhand motion as depicted in the 1839 illo. The earliest record of knickers and stockings that I’m aware of is from 1869, though I believe I’ve read arguments from circumstantial evidence that sox may have appeared in 1868. In either case, not in 1864, when anyway most young men in the nation were otherwise occupied. And pitching was still underhand through the 1860s. For the 1914 illo, only one team in pro ball was still wearing pillbox hats (the Philadelphia Athletics).

On the other hand, it’s interesting to see that there was some awareness of and interest in baseball uni history in the 1930s. The unis depicted in the spread are reasonable representations, even if nobody seems to have known quite which decade a given style came from. People in 1938 were saying, “Hey, remember when baseball players used to wear those funny flat-top caps?” and others were replying, “Sure – that was before the Great War, right?”

That’s exactly what I thought when I flipped through the book. The whole pamphlet is filled with wacky things like that. I was just surprised that people were into this stuff in 1939.

rick|
April 12, 2016 at 4:16 pm |

Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Cooperstown…it’s all good!

Dumb Guy|
April 12, 2016 at 9:10 am |

RE: Vikings cap/scarf…

I received a Redskins cap with no logo (like the Vikings scarf) when I was a kid.
Even then I was like “WTH??” I guess I was “getting it” even as a youngster.

gene sanny|
April 12, 2016 at 9:12 am |

i know dan fouts wore a mask with a vertical bar like that the game after he broke his nose, because i watched it on tv, but i can’t find any pictures. i remember thinking how strange it looked on him, and wondered how much the bar in front of his eyes affected his vision.

Re: The Ohio flag at Wrigley, to my recollection the Cubs have traditionally flown the visiting team’s city flag next to the marquee. Maybe they also do the state flag too (blocked in the picture?) I can’t remember specifically right now. Or maybe they couldn’t find/didn’t have their Cincinnati flag and flew the Ohio instead?

Jim Howicz|
April 12, 2016 at 9:51 am |

“I have an exclusive on this story, with good background info from the team and the vendor/supplier on the project.”

Paul you failed to mention/notice that the extra “l” is also missing from the new Phillies script. Previous seasons, when players had their jerseys unbuttoned, it gave the illusion of three “ls” on the jersey.

Mike Phipps switched facemasks after his nose was broken. A lineman swiped him going for a tackle (defensive linemen in the Bear’s backfield was a common occurrence at the time). He used the facemask with the full center bar to provide a bit more protection. It is interesting because the modern day protection against this for QB’s is a clear eye shield. The technology was not developed yet.

Randy (George) Miller|
April 12, 2016 at 9:55 pm |

Actually, I believe Ken Anderson of the Bengals tried to introduce a motorcycle type of helmet that feaured a clear face shield.

I am predicting that the diamondbacks will wear their gray tops with their white pants and somehow in the days of alt jerseys with white pants, we’ve never had a gray jersey with white pants….

Keith|
April 12, 2016 at 11:43 am |

My guess is the Dodgers. The only team to not have played a home opener yet, with a scheduled game time of 4:10 (eastern).

Keith|
April 12, 2016 at 11:46 am |

Maybe Vin Scully related?

arrScott|
April 12, 2016 at 11:55 am |

A sleeve patch embedded with one of those motion-sensing computer chips they use in “talking” greeting cards that plays Vin shouting “And she. Is. Gone!” when the wearer pumps his arm like Kirk Gibson?

The “earliest rendition of the Bucs’ creamsicle uniform” reminds me of the World Football League’s Southern California Sun (that team used orange and purple in its unis). It certainly looks better than anything the Sun did wear during the WFL’s short existence.

Michael Emody|
April 12, 2016 at 11:30 am |

My old folk singer friend Brian Cutean played a “house concert” at a couple’s place in Wicker Park. Totally fun. I even found a parking space. If the performer has a bit of a following/e-mail list, they can (hopefully) make a few dollars. Eventually the neighbors put the kibosh on such endeavors, but folks willing to produce living room concerts can get a few in before that.

Wheels|
April 12, 2016 at 1:07 pm |

At least the five worst uniforms of the 90s didn’t have sleeves.

Randy (George) Miller|
April 12, 2016 at 9:46 pm |

Was the University of Evansville Aces still wearing their sleeved jerseys in the 90’s? I think early on they were.

James Steever|
April 12, 2016 at 1:14 pm |

There is so much to love about this Swamp Dragons story.

Has anyone reached out to ESPN for a 30 on 30 Episode on the Swamp Dragons? This is beyond spectacular in so many goofy over the top ways. And now the video game version… Paul Lukas as Ken Burns…

Normally best/worst lists make me mad, but that worst of the 90s was pretty spot on. Maybe should have found a way to get the Pistons on but otherwise good job.

hugh.c.mcbride|
April 12, 2016 at 2:29 pm |

Re: Brinke’s memories of his electric football playin’ youth – not sure if this is common knowledge among the cognoscenti, but 176 Johnson St. in Brooklyn, the former home of Tudor Metal Products, is now The Toy Factory Lofts.

3-D printing seems like a very LA thing for the Dodgers to do. Would make cultural sense in Seattle, too, but probably works better with the simpler Dodgers logo. I’ll be rooting for the new helmet logos to work and not chip or fall off all the time.

Curious to see how the lids look during a night game under the lights.

Christian|
April 12, 2016 at 4:05 pm |

Quick thought about the Penguins wearing “Pittsburgh Gold” at home: Marc-Andre Fleury used to wear yellow pads back when he entered the league in 2003, but changed after 2005 or so because he was told that the yellow pads made it easier to pick out their position, and by association, where not to shoot. He switched to white pads under the assumption that they were less distinct, and he continues to wear white pads to this day, except with the current alternate (now playoff) jerseys, because they go well with the color scheme. Will Fleury continue to wear yellow pads at home (as he’s done during the regular season with this jersey)? And if so, does that give the Penguins a disadvantage, however slight, due directly to the uniform choices of the team/Fleury?

As for if they’ve worn it for decades, I have no idea when it started.

Tim|
April 12, 2016 at 8:16 pm |

Those picture of Mike Phipps in the 70’s with the Browns (got to see him in a game at the Mistake by the Lake in 1974) tells me how big a mistake the Browns have made in their recent uniform decisions.

Randy (George) Miller|
April 12, 2016 at 9:45 pm |

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Bears uniforms in that video clip. The all whites and a gray facemask on the helmet. Sweet!

Chuck|
April 12, 2016 at 10:58 pm |

Am I losing it, or is that Vin Scully calling that Bears/Eagles game? it sure sounds like him!